NTSB: Helicopter pilot blamed himself in New Mexico crash

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A National Transportation Safety Board report says a pilot blamed himself for a fatal helicopter crash before he succumbed to his injuries.

Pilot Jamie Coleman Dodd was among five people killed in the January 2018 crash in northern New Mexico.

Zimbabwe opposition leader Roy Bennett and his wife, Heather, as well as a co-pilot and wealthy businessman also were killed. The crash’s sole survivor was the businessman’s girlfriend and co-pilot’s daughter.

Federal investigators wrote in their report Thursday that the pilot told a witness as he was placed in a rescue helicopter that he had crashed his aircraft into terrain near Raton and that the accident was his fault.

The report did not identify Dodd by name. New Mexico authorities have said previously that he was the lead pilot.